Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar'' is a 2000 Indian English-
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
bilingual
feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
directed by
Jabbar Patel Dr. Jabbar Patel (born 23 June 1942, Pandharpur) is a former paediatrician and a Marathi-language theatre and film director of India. His production of the play Vijay Tendulkar's play Ghashiram Kotwal, in 1973 is considered a classic in Mode ...
. It stars
Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...
in the title role. The film tells the story of
B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
, known mainly for his contributions in the emancipation of the downtrodden and oppressed castes, and as a result, the oppressed classes in India and shaping the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
, as the chairman of the Drafting Committee of the
Indian Constituent Assembly The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...
. ''Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar'' won the
National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...
for Best feature film in English,
Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...
(Mammootty) and
Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...
(Nitin Chandrakant Desai) in 1999. The film was screened retrospective on August 15, 2016 at the ''Independence Day Film Festival'' jointly presented by the Indian
Directorate of Film Festivals The Directorate of Film Festivals in India was an organisation that initiated and presented the International Film Festival of India, the National Film Awards and the Indian Panorama. Although the Directorate helped appoint members of the jur ...
and
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, commemorating 70th
Indian Independence Day Independence Day is celebrated annually on 15 August as a public holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, the day when the provisions of the Indian Independence Act, which transf ...
.


Plot

Bhimrao Ambedkar studying in
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
library is approached by
Lala Lajpat Rai Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...
to join his home rule league but Ambedkar refuses to do so as he came here on the scholarship of his highness
Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...
of
Baroda State Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its c ...
. Ambedkar is unable to afford studying in America so he also works part-time jobs washing plates and cleaning. He passed his M.A. exam in June 1915, majoring in economics, and other subjects of sociology, history, philosophy and anthropology. He presented a thesis, Ancient Indian Commerce. Ambedkar was influenced by
John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...
and his work on democracy. In 1916 he completed his second thesis, National Dividend of India - A Historic and Analytical Study for another M.A. In October 1916, he enrolled for the Bar course at
Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
, and at the same time enrolled at the
London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...
where he started working on a doctoral thesis. 1917 The term of his scholarship from Baroda ended, so that he was obliged to go back to India in June with his work unfinished; he was, however, given permission to return and finish within four years. He sent his precious and much-loved collection of books back on a steamer—but it was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine Ambedkar went to Baroda State to work as a probationer in the Accountant General's Office . A scholarship of 11.50 British pounds a month, for three years, was awarded to the young Ambedkar and per the agreement he has to serve baroda for 10 years after the completion of his studies. However, upon arriving in Baroda, he realized that none of the Hindu hotels would allow his to stay due to his lower caste. He found a
Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
inn, but here, non-Parsis were not allowed to stay. He and the Parsi inn-keeper reached a compromise, where by Ambedkar gave his name as a Parsi, and was allowed to stay. After joining the new office as a new senior officer (Probationary officer) being an untouchable the peon of the office doesn't give him file in his hand he throw files on his table, Ambedkar feel thirsty and ask for a glass of water, the peon says there is no water when he goes on to drink water from the pot, Upper caste people finds this very uncomfortable and insult him and he is not allowed to drink water from that pot as they think by his touch it will pollute the water so they tell him to bring his own water and call him dirty and untouchable. After a few days of stay in Baroda it is discovered by other Parsis, that he is not Parsi and on the eleventh day of his stay, a group of angry Parsi men, armed with sticks, arrived to remove him from the inn. He had to leave the inn that very day, and not having a place to stay, was forced to leave Baroda and return to
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
to find work elsewhere. In Bombay, Ambedkar applies for the post of professorship as professor of
political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...
in
Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics Sydenham College of Economics is a college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is affiliated to the Dr. Homi Bhabha State University. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in management. It was awarded a re-accreditat ...
. On the first day of his job the students makes fun of him thinking what this untouchable will teach them does he know how to speak English. In the staff room when Ambedkar approaches towards water pot to drink water a professor named
Trivedi Trivedi is a Northern and Western family name from India reflecting the mastery over three of the four vedas (including the Vedic Branch he was born into). In Sanskrit Trivedi means 'one that knows the three Vedas’, from tri = 'three' + veda ...
doesn't like it and insults him. Ambedkar is approached by Shri Shahu Maharaj of
Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...
and Ambedkar starts a newspaper called Mooknayak in the year 1920. Ambedkar took a conference in
Mangaon Mangaon is a small town (and ''taluka'') in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, India. It is located in the Raigad district, from Alibag, Alibaug headquarters, and from the state capital of Mumbai, towards the Panjim side. Industrial developmen ...
in Kolhapur it was attended by Shri Shahu Maharaj. The Maharaj declared in a prophetic vein "You have found your saviour in Ambedkar and I am confident that he will break your shackles".


Cast

*
Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...
as
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
*
Sonali Kulkarni Sonali Kulkarni (born 3 November 1974) is an Indian actress, producer, and writer who primarily appears in Marathi and Hindi films. She has also appeared in Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati and English films. She has worked in over 70 films, both com ...
as
Ramabai Ambedkar Ramabai Bhimrao Ambedkar (7 February 1898 – 27 May 1935) was the first wife of B. R. Ambedkar, who said her support was instrumental in helping him pursue his higher education and his true potential. She has been the subject of a number of biog ...
, first wife of Ambedkar *
Priya Bapat Priya Bapat (born 18 September 1986) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Marathi films. She is best known for her roles in the movies '' Kaksparsh'' and '' Aamhi Doghi'', for which she won the Best Actress award at the Screen Awards in 20 ...
as young Ramabai *
Mrinal Kulkarni Mrinal Deo-Kulkarni (born 21 June 1971) is a senior film, TV actress and director of India. She is better known for her role as Meerabai in doordarshan's Meerabai seriel and angel in Hindi TV serial ''Son Pari''. She has acted in Marathi langua ...
as
Savita Ambedkar Savita Bhimrao Ambedkar ( Kabir; 27 January 1909 – 29 May 2003), was an Indian social activist, doctor and the second wife of Babasaheb Ambedkar. Ambedkarites and Buddhists refer to her as Mai or Maisaheb, which stands for 'Mother' in Marath ...
, second wife of Babasaheb *
Govind Namdeo Govind Namdev (born 3 September 1954) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Namdev made his debut as a corrupt cop in David Dhawan's '' Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1992). He has acted in numerous movies, often as a villain. He is an alumnus o ...
as Subedar Ramji Maloji Sakpal, father of Babasaheb *
Mohan Gokhale Mohan Gokhale (7 November 1953 – 29 April 1999) was an Indian film, television and theater actor who has worked in art films such as '' Sparsh'', ''Bhavni Bhavai'' and ''Mirch Masala''. His father was a senior journalist and Editor of the wee ...
as
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...
*
Tirlok Malik Tirlok Malik (born in New Delhi) is an Indian-American film maker, actor and producer based in New York. He has been nominated in Emmy Awards. He is also an entrepreneur, ayurveda restaurateur and happy life yoga speaker. Early life Malik was ...
as
Lala Lajpat Rai Lala Lajpat Rai (28 January 1865 - 17 November 1928) was an Indian author, freedom fighter, and politician. He played a vital role in the Indian Independence movement. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari. He was one of the three members of ...
*
Anjan Srivastav Aanjjan Srivastav (born 2 June 1948) is an Indian film, television and stage actor, associated with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) in Mumbai of which he remained Vice-President for several years. Outside theatre, he is best known as ...
as
Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...
*
Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in ''Patang'' (2012). He ga ...
as one of the leaders of Second
Mahad Satyagraha Mahad Satyagraha or Chavdar Tale Satyagraha was a satyagraha led by B. R. Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 to allow untouchables to use water in a public tank in Mahad (currently in Raigad district), Maharashtra, India. The day (20 March) is observed as ...
and in background of Manusmriti Dahan *
Sushant Singh Sushant Singh (born 9 March 1972) is an Indian character actor, television actor, author and Television presenter, presenter known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and Telugu cinema. He made his screen debut in 1998 with Ram Gopal V ...
as Asnodkar, a friend he met while studying in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
*
Nandu Madhav Nandu Madhav is an Indian actor known for his works in Marathi cinema and theatre. He is known for the his titular role in Paresh Mokashi's ''Harishchandrachi Factory'' which won the Best Feature Film in Marathi award in the 56th National Fi ...
as
Gangadhar Nilkanth Sahasrabuddhe Gangadhar Nilkanth Sahasrabuddhe was an Indian social activist from Maharashtra. He was born in a Marathi Chitpawan Brahmin family and belonged to the Social Service League. Along with other activists - Surendranath Tipnis, chairman of the Mahad ...
*
Ashok Lokhande Ashok Lokhande (born 9 September 1962) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for playing the role of Arun Rathi (Bhabasa) in the Star Plus Show ''Diya Aur Baati Hum'' and its sequel ''Tu Sooraj, Main Saanjh Piyaji''. ...
as
Bhaurao Gaikwad Bhaurao Krishnaji Gaikwad (15 October 1902 – 29 December 1971), also known as Dadasaheb Gaikwad, was an Indian politician and social worker from Maharashtra. He was founder member of the Republican Party of India and was a member of parliame ...
* Nikhil Ratnaparkhi as Professor Trivedi ( Special Appearance)


Production

The film was a project funded jointly by the
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a Government of India ministry. It is responsible for welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society, including scheduled castes (SC), Other Backwar ...
and the
Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...
. It was made at a budget of 8.95 crore. The production was managed by the government-owned
National Film Development Corporation of India The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) based in Mumbai is the central agency established in 1975, to encourage high quality Indian cinema. It functions in areas of film financing, production and distribution and under Ministr ...
. In an interview with Pritish Nandy of ''
Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...
'', director Jabbar Patel said that the research and filming took three years each. The government said they wanted a film on the scale of
Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...
's ''
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
''. For the role of
Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly of India, Constit ...
, they considered hundreds of actors around the world. Patel claimed that, in that search, they also sought
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
who was very keen on the role but backed off when he was told that he had to drop his American accent and speak the way Ambedkar did—in his typically "clipped Indo-British accent". Mammootty was cast by chance when Patel saw his picture on a magazine and felt he had some resemblance with Ambedkar. Mammootty was initially resistant to be cast as that would have meant shaving off his mustache, recalls Patel. Since there were no footage of Ambedkar available to them, his body language and way of talking was to be done out of imagination. The film was simultaneously shot in English and
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
. Although ''Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar'' was certified in 1998, it was released commercially in 2000.


Music


Awards

The film won
National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...
(India) in 1999. *
Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...
-
Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil l ...
*
Best Art Direction The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...
- Nitin Chandrakant Desai


See also

*
List of artistic depictions of Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (a.k.a. Mahatma Gandhi) was a key Indian independence movement leader known for employing nonviolent resistance against British Rule to successfully lead the campaign. He was the pioneer of ''Satyagraha'' — the res ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (Film) 2000 films 2000 biographical drama films Films about B. R. Ambedkar Films featuring a Best Actor National Award-winning performance Films whose production designer won the Best Production Design National Film Award Best English Feature Film National Film Award winners English-language Indian films Cultural depictions of B. R. Ambedkar Cultural depictions of Mahatma Gandhi Cultural depictions of Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural depictions of Muhammad Ali Jinnah 2000 drama films Films about Buddhism Films directed by Jabbar Patel